Warriors overcome hurdles for No. 52

MARION - More than most seasons, many expected this to be the end of Cedar Rapids Washington's district dominance.

After all, graduation took a significant bite out of last year's state runner-up roster, with just four returners from the state meet. The complementary spots were replete with inexperience, and area schools like Iowa City West and Linn-Mar appeared ready to stake their claim.

But Saturday at Linn-Mar Aquatic Center, what mattered most was a committed group of young men mindful of their responsibility to the tradition of the Warriors swim program. As a result, a streak that dates back to the Johnson administration continued in impressive fashion as Washington claimed its 52nd consecutive district banner with 258.5 points.

'This year we were a little more top-heavy perhaps than we have been in the past,” Washington Coach Chris Cruise said. 'I couldn't be prouder of this group. They've worked so hard all year long.”

The 'top-heavy” portion of Cruise's lineup stepped up in a big way. Cruise decided to utilize senior Jared Thorson in all three relays, which left him available for just one individual event – the 100-yard butterfly. Spurred on by Washington assistant coach Megan Lewis behind the block, Thorson touched the wall in a season-best 51.16 seconds, nearly a full second faster than favorite Oliver Martin of Iowa City West.

'I needed to go fast on that first 50 otherwise I didn't have a chance,” Thorson said. 'When I came back in the second 50 and I hit the wall, I knew.”

Up and down the Washington lineup, each swimmer dropped significant time off his season best. Junior Nick Saulnier (200-yard individual medley and 100-yard backstroke) and sophomore Cameron Kelley (200-yard freestyle and 500) each notched a pair of runner-up finishes.

'A lot of them were down in the dumps at the beginning of the season because people didn't think the streak was going to be intact,” Kelley said. 'But knowing that we did it, it's just a great feeling.”

Junior Matt Jackson placed fifth in the IM and third in the butterfly as eight Warriors tallied over 13 points in individual events. Washington received breakout performances from freshmen Kaleb Donels and George Durin. Donels placed third in the backstroke and fourth in the IM, while Durin finished fifth in the 100 free and fourth in the 100-yard backstroke. Both also participated in runner-up relay finishes.

'I'm not sure anybody on staff envisioned this kind of performance out of those two kids,” Cruise said. 'They really carried the day for us in a lot of ways.”

Juniors Aidan Keen and Mark McGlaughlin had two individual wins for runner-up Iowa City West (234 points). Host Linn-Mar finished third, while Cedar Rapids Kennedy was fourth on the strength of a breaststroke victory from junior Stefan Kitsos.

The top-24 times across Saturday's eight district meets qualify for next week's state championships at Marshalltown.

DISTRICT MEET

At Linn-Mar

Teams – 1. Cedar Rapids Washington 258.5, 2. Iowa City West 234, 3. Linn-Mar 221, 4. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 194, 5. Muscatine 123, 6. Cedar Rapids Jefferson 85, 7. Iowa City High 82, 8. Burlington 44.5.

200 medley relay – 1. I.C. West (Mark McGlaughlin, Matt Anderson, Oliver Martin, Will Scott), 1:34.66; 2. C.R. Washington (Kaleb Donels, Matt Jackson, Jared Thorson, Nick Saulnier), 1:35.78; 3. Cedar Rapids Kennedy (Brennan Urbi, Stefan Kitsos, Cade Schoenauer, Evan Bednar), 1:38.51. 200 free – 1. Aidan Keen (ICW), 1:41.63; 2. Cameron Kelley (CRW), 1:43.57; 3. Brady Gibson (CRK), 1:49.28. 200 individual medley – 1. Alex Walton (Muscatine), 1:53.11; 2. Saulnier (CRW), 1:54.15; 3. Calvin Greve (Linn-Mar), 1:57.25. 50 free – 1. McGlaughlin (ICW), 20.54; 2. Scott (ICW), 20.84; 3. Urbi (CRK), 21.08. 100 butterfly – 1. Thorson (CRW), 51.16, 2. Martin (ICW), 52.12, 3. Jackson (CRW), 53.69. 100 free – 1. McGlaughlin (ICW), 46.10; 2. Justin Arebaugh (LM), 47.27; 3. Urbi (CRK), 47.31. 500 free – 1. Keen (ICW), 4:36.30; 2. Kelley (CRW), 4:38.50; 3. Max McChesney (CRJ), 4:54.03. 200 free relay – 1. I.C. West (Martin, Anderson, Scott, Keen), 1:25.52; 2. C.R. Washington (Saulnier, Durin, Thorson, Kelley), 1:25.76; 3. C.R. Kennedy (Kitsos, Gibson, Schoenauer, Urbi), 1:28.10. 100 backstroke – Walton (Muscatine), 49.76; Saulnier (CRW), 51.91; 3. Donels (CRW), 52.48. 100 breaststroke – 1. Kitsos (CRK), 58.96; 2. Paul Hummell (CRJ), 59.76; 3. Anderson (ICW), 1:01.02. 400 free relay – 1. I.C. West (Martin, Scott, Keen, McGlaughlin), 3:07.65; 2. Linn-Mar (Greve, Matt Peng, Zach Hendricks, Justin Arebaugh), 3:14.42; 3. C.R. Washington (Michael Janssen, Jackson, Thorson, Kelley), 3:14.48.

AREA STATE MEET QUALIFIERS

(State meet is Feb. 14 at Marshalltown YMCA)

200 medley relay – 1. Iowa City West (Mark McGlaughlin, Matt Anderson, Oliver Martin, Will Scott), 1:34.66; 2. C.R. Washington (Kaleb Donels, Matt Jackson, Jared Thorson, Nick Saulnier), 1:35.78; 12. Cedar Rapids Kennedy (Brennan Urbi, Stefan Kitsos, Cade Schoenauer, Evan Bednar), 1:38.51; 13. Linn-Mar (Calvin Greve, Reid Snell, Zach Hendricks, Matthew Mather), 1:39.08; 13. Cedar Rapids Jefferson (Nate Homan, Paul Hummell, Ryan Martin, Luke Hummell), 1:41.06; 18. Iowa City High (Andrew Parr, Cole Donahue, Abe Eyman Casey, Eric Thomas), 1:41.84. 200 free – 1. Aidan Keen (I.C. West), 1:41.63; 3. Cameron Kelley (C.R. Washington), 1:43.57; 19. Brady Gibson (C.R. Kennedy), 1:49.28; 24. Hogan Myers (Linn-Mar), 1:49.79. 200 individual medley – 2. Nick Saulnier (C.R. Washington), 1:54.15; 4. Calvin Greve (Linn-Mar), 1:57.25; 10. Kaleb Donels (C.R. Washington), 1:58.98; 12. Matt Jackson (C.R. Washington), 1:59.81; 14. Stefan Kitsos (C.R. Kennedy), 2:00.31; 20. Mac Faldet (Decorah), 2:01.24; 24. Reid Snell (Linn-Mar), 2:03.25. 50 free – 1. Mark McGlaughlin (I.C. West), 20.54; 2. Will Scott (I.C. West), 20.84; 3. Brennan Urbi (C.R. Kennedy), 21.08; 5. Justin Arebaugh (Linn-Mar), 21.34; 9. Abe Eyman Casey (Iowa City High), 21.83; 17. Matt Peng (Linn-Mar), 22.30; 18. Jerod Heying (Decorah), 22.31; 22. Cade Schoenauer (C.R. Kennedy), 22.36. 100 butterfly – 1. Jared Thorson (C.R. Washington), 51.16, 4. Oliver Martin (I.C. West), 52.12, 13. Nolan Heffern (Decorah), 53.54; 15. Matt Jackson (C.R. Washington), 53.69; 19. Zach Hendricks (Linn-Mar), 54.24; 21. Cade Schoenauer (C.R. Kennedy), 54.47; 22. Matt Peng (Linn-Mar), 54.64. 100 free – 1. Mark McGlaughlin (I.C. West), 46.10; 6. Justin Arebaugh (Linn-Mar), 47.27; 7. Brennan Urbi (C.R. Kennedy), 47.31; 16. Reid Snell (Linn-Mar), 48.98; 22. G orge Durin (C.R. Washington), 49.34. 500 free – 1. Aidan Keen (I.C. West), 4:36.30; 2. Cameron Kelley (C.R. Washington), 4:38.50; 16. Max McChesney (C.R. Jefferson), 4:54.03; 20. Hogan Myers (Linn-Mar), 4:57.40. 200 free relay – 1. Iowa City West (Oliver Martin, Matt Anderson, Will Scott, Aidan Keen), 1:25.52; 2. C.R. Washington (Nick Saulnier, George Durin, Jared Thorson, Cameron Kelley), 1:25.76; 7. C.R. Kennedy (Stefan Kitsos, Brady Gibson, Cade Schoenauer, Brennan Urbi), 1:28.10; 9. Linn-Mar (Matt Peng, Brock Fischer, Reid Snell, Justin Arebaugh), 1:28.24; 14. C.R. Jefferson (Paul Hummell, Luke Hummell, Nate Homan, Ryan Martin), 1:30.04; 18. Decorah, 1:31.03. 100 backstroke – 3. Nick Saulnier (C.R. Washington), 51.91; 5. Kaleb Donels (C.R. Washington), 52.48; 6. Calvin Greve (Linn-Mar), 52.58; 7. Abe Eyman Casey (Iowa City High), 53.19; 16. Andrew Parr (Iowa City High), 55.31. 100 breaststroke – 2. Mac Faldet (Decorah), 58.17; 5. Stefan Kitsos (C.R. Kennedy), 58.96; 10. Paul Hummell (C.R. Jefferson), 59.76; 15.. Matt Anderson (I.C. West), 1:01.02; 22. George Durin (C.R. Washington), 1:01.82. 400 free relay – 1. I.C. West (Oliver Martin, Will Scott, Aidan Keen, Mark McGlaughlin), 3:07.65; 6. Linn-Mar (Calvin Greve, Matt Peng, Zach Hendricks, Justin Arebaugh), 3:14.42; 7. C.R. Washington (Michael Janssen, Matt Jackson, Jared Thorson, Cameron Kelley), 3:14.48; 19. Decorah, 3:23.27; 20. C.R. Jefferson (Luke Hummell, Nate Homan, Ryan Martin, Paul Hummell), 3:24.31.

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com